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Natural Resources Police Officers Nab Three Deer Poachers

Three men were charged with deer hunting violations by the Maryland Natural Resources Police in separate incidents in Allegany and Frederick counties.

Robert Miller Tristen, 30, of Lavale, was charged last Thursday with hunting at night, hunting within a safety zone and wanton waste of deer.

Officers answering a call in Allegany County about illegal deer hunting followed a blood trail from the carcass to Tristen’s house. The suspect admitted shooting the deer from a second-story bedroom window with a crossbow. Tristen told officers the deer ran and he was unable to track it.

The officers noted that the deer’s trail was easy to follow and the distance between where it was shot to where it fell was about 150 yards.

Tristen is scheduled to appear in Allegany District Court on March 14. If found guilty of all three charges, he could be fined a maximum of $4,500.

A three-month investigation led to the charging of two men in Frederick County for hunting violations.

Ryan Kent Nesbitt, 43, of Hagerstown, received citations for taking multiple deer without reporting the kills, exceeding the bag limit, hunting without a license and taking additional antlered deer without having purchased a bonus stamp. He also received 13 written warnings.

Acting on tips, an officer began tracking Nesbitt’s hunting activities and determined that the suspect was not reporting kills as required by the state. When he confronted Nesbitt, the suspect admitted he killed several deer and hunted before he bought a license.

During the archery season, Nesbitt killed a 13-point buck, an 8-point buck, a 4-point buck and a spike buck.

While investigating the Nesbitt case, the officer discovered that one of the suspect’s hunting partners had killed multiple deer without reporting the kills.

Michael James Littleton, 43, of Knoxville, admitted he took three deer but said two of them were road kill animals.

Littleton was charged with two counts of failing to report a kill.

Both men are scheduled to appear in Frederick District Court on May 18. If found guilty of all counts, Nesbitt could be fined a maximum of $6,000. Littleton could be fined as much as $3,000.